Harambee Starlets rise seven places in latest FIFA rankings after WAFCON qualification
The jump reflects their successful qualification for the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco, ending a decade-long absence from the continental tournament.
The Kenya women's national team, Harambee Starlets, has risen seven places in the latest FIFA Women's World Rankings, now sitting 133rd globally, following a period of strong performances.
The jump reflects their successful qualification for the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco, ending a decade-long absence from the continental tournament.
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Under coach Beldine Odemba, the Starlets navigated a challenging qualification campaign, defeating Tunisia 1-0 away before securing a 4-1 aggregate win over The Gambia in the final round.
The win secured Kenya's place at the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, joining teams including Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Malawi, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. The tournament is scheduled from March 17 to April 3, 2026.
The Harambee Starlets' preparation for WAFCON included two recent friendlies against Algeria, ranked 73rd, where Kenya lost 2-1 in the first match but drew 1-1 in the second.
"There are some things we need to work on, especially on mental toughness and mental preparation. We need to work on a lot of concentration," Odemba said after the matches.
"It could have been seen that when we score, we struggle a lot against the opponents, but when we contain them, we play a good game. We now know what to do and the calibre of players we are going to meet.
Continentally, Nigeria remains the highest-ranked women's team in Africa at 37th, followed by South Africa (55th), Ghana (62nd), Zambia (64th), Morocco (66th) and Cameroon (70th). Overall, Burkina Faso recorded the biggest jump on the list, rising 16 spots to 118th.
In East Africa, Tanzania tops the rankings at 121st, moving up one spot, with Kenya close behind at 133rd. Ethiopia (138th) and Uganda (148th) follow, while Rwanda (169th), Burundi (179th), South Sudan (195th), and Djibouti (197th) fill out the lower end of the regional table.
Eritrea and Sudan remain unranked, having not played FIFA-recognised matches in the past two years.
Globally, the top five teams are Spain, the United States, Germany, England, and Sweden. Brazil, France, Japan, North Korea (DPRK) and Canada complete the top 10.
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